US8590976B2 - Knock down furniture with locking joints - Google Patents

Abstract

A knock down furniture system is presented. The furniture uses joints which bend or twist a panel when inserted into an adjoining panel to place the joint under stress and stiffen the joint. Preferably, tabs are used in combination with offset or rotated slots to achieve the same. The system allows for furniture which does not require fasteners or tools and which is easily assembled while still being stable. Parts of the furniture can be interchanged within a piece of furniture or between different pieces of furniture to customize the configuration of the furniture.

Description

PRIORITY

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/388,663, filed Oct. 1, 2010 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/434,213, filed Jan. 19, 2011 which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to modular furniture. More specifically, the present invention relates to modular furniture which is assembled largely from flat pieces without tools and without connection hardware.

BACKGROUND

Ready to assemble or knock-down type furniture is often used where a person desires furniture which is easy to assemble or which is easy to transport or store when disassembled. This style of furniture is often used by college students, for example, as it can be easily moved and stored. Typical ready to assemble furniture, however, has its disadvantages. A significant disadvantage is that the furniture requires hardware and tools for assembly. This furniture typically uses metal posts and cams to assemble the furniture. The metal posts screw into and extend from particle board panels and are inserted into a cam lock in another panel. The cam lock is rotated to hold the post captive. Other ready to assemble furniture uses a few small nails to assemble the furniture.

These available furniture systems have several disadvantages. The fasteners are difficult to adequately tighten and, even when properly tightened, are simply insufficient to secure the furniture. As such, the assembled furniture is not particularly sturdy and the shifting of the furniture panels as the furniture is moved or used places significant stress on the fasteners. This movement loosens the fasteners and destroys the wood around the fastener, degrading the quality of the furniture.

Available furniture is also disadvantageous as it requires tools to assemble or disassemble. Many people have few tools and may not have the proper tools for assembly. This makes proper assembly more difficult. Additionally, available knock down furniture is often complex to assemble. Combined with typically poor instructions, most persons do not enjoy assembling the furniture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved knock down or ready to assemble furniture.

Furniture is provided where the joint members formed in each piece of the furniture both lock the furniture together and stabilize the furniture without the use of additional fasteners. Furniture may be assembled with only tabs and slots while remaining stable and strong. The furniture may be formed so that all furniture pieces are flat, simplifying manufacture of the furniture and making the furniture more compact when disassembled for storage or transportation. Additionally, furniture is provided where pieces of the furniture can be interchanged within a single piece of furniture and can be interchanged between different pieces of furniture to ease assembly and to create different furniture pieces. The present invention is advantageous as it does not require pegs or other items projecting out of the plane of a furniture member, and does not require complex sequencing for stability as other pieces of furniture do.

These and other aspects of the present invention are realized in furniture as shown and described in the following figures and related description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described in reference to the numbered drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an end view of the tab ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 10 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows an end view of the furniture joint ofFIG. 10;

FIG. 12 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 18 shows an end view of a furniture joint of the present invention;

FIG. 19 shows an end view of the joint ofFIG. 18;

FIG. 20 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 21 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 22 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 23 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 24 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 25 shows a furniture panel of the present invention;

FIG. 26 shows a furniture assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 27 shows a furniture assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 28 shows a furniture assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 29 shows a furniture assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 30 shows a table of the present invention;

FIG. 31 shows a shelf with stabilizing straps according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 32 and 33 show the stabilizing straps ofFIG. 31.

It will be appreciated that the drawings are illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims. The embodiments shown accomplish various aspects and objects of the invention. It is appreciated that it is not possible to clearly show each element and aspect of the invention in a single FIGURE, and as such, multiple figures are presented to separately illustrate the various details of the invention in greater clarity. Similarly, not every embodiment need accomplish all advantages of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention and accompanying drawings will now be discussed in reference to the numerals provided therein so as to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. The drawings and descriptions are exemplary of various aspects of the invention and are not intended to narrow the scope of the appended claims.

Turning now toFIG. 1, a perspective view of a basic joint10 according to the present invention is shown. The joint includes afirst furniture panel14 which hastabs18 extending therefrom and asecond furniture panel22 which hasslots26 formed therein.FIG. 2 shows an end view of the assembled joint. Thetabs18 have been placed into theslots26. As is seen, theslots26 are rotated slightly so that thepanel14 must be bent or bowed slightly in order to place thetabs18 into theslots26. This creates some friction and some interference between thetabs18 andslots26 and stabilizes the joint. The joint is held in place by the friction.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative joint configuration wherein thetabs18 have arecess30 cut in the face of the tab, adjacent thepanel14.FIG. 4 shows a cross section of thetab18. Additionally, theslot26 is longer, having a narrowedportion34 at the bottom of the slot. The wider top portion of theslot26 is sufficiently wide to accept the end of thetab18 while the narrowedbottom portion34 of the slot is narrowed and will accept the recessedportion30 of the tab.FIGS. 5 and 6 shows thetab18 inserted into the slot and then slid into the narrowed portion of the slot34 (FIG. 6). This position keeps thetab18 from pulling straight out of theslot26 without first sliding upwardly.

FIGS. 7 through 9 show another joint configuration where thetab18 has apartial recess30 formed with the cross section shown inFIG. 4. Again, theslot26 has a narrowedlower portion34 which is too narrow to accept the full width of thetab18 but will accept the recessedportion30.FIGS. 8 and 9 show thetab18 being inserted into theslot26 transversely and slid lengthwise along theslot26 such that the recessed portion of thetab30 is disposed in the narrowedportion34 of the slot.

Typically, theslots26 are angled as shown above. When the tab81 is installed into theslot26, thepanel14 is bent slightly to cause friction and stabilize the joint. Theslots26 shown inFIGS. 3 through 9 may be formed such that the wide portion of theslot26 is sufficiently wide to not bend thepanel14 when inserting thetabs18 into the wider portion of theslot26. The narrowedportion34 of theslot26 is sufficiently narrowed and oriented such that thepanel14 is bent when thetab18 is slid into the narrowedportion34. This makes the joint easy to assemble.

The tab and slot joints above are utilized withslots26 which are angled to cause thepanel14 to bend as the tabs are inserted as is shown inFIG. 2. As discussed, thepanel14 must bend to change the angle of thetabs18 in order to seat thetabs18 fully in theslots26. This bending causes a slight interference fit and friction, stabilizing the joint and holding thetabs18 more securely in theslots26.

FIG. 2 shows first order bending of thepanel14; bending thepanel14 into a single curve. In order to achieve this type of bend, theupper slot26 is rotated in a clockwise direction and thelower slot26 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. This causes theupper tab18 to be twisted in a clockwise direction and thelower tab18 to be twisted in a counterclockwise direction to bend thepanel14 as shown.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a configuration where thepanel14 is bent into second order type of bend; thepanel14 being bent into an ‘S’ curve. This is accomplished by usingslots26 which are both rotated in the same (clockwise or counterclockwise) direction relative to the center line of thepanel14.FIG. 10 shows thetabs18 inserted into the larger openings of aslot26 andFIG. 11 shows thetabs18 inserted into the narrowedportion34 of theslots26. It will be appreciated that both first order or second order bending can be used withplain tabs18 as well as tabs with full orpartial recesses30.

The amount that aslot26 is rotated away from the plane in which thepanel14 is placed depends on several factors. The type and thickness of the material and the number and placement of the tabs/slots primarily determine how much bending of thepanel14 is necessary to achieve a desired amount of stiffness in the resulting joint10. For example, plywood is stiffer than MDF and requires less bending. Thicker materials require less bending than a similar thinner material. More closely spacedtabs18 require less bending than tabs which are spaced farther apart. Second order bending of thepanel14 as shown inFIG. 11 makes a stiffer joint that first order bending as shown inFIG. 2. As such, less rotation of theslot26 is necessary for a joint which utilizes second order bending.

Additionally, the use of the furniture is considered when determining how much theslots26 twist thetabs18 from horizontal. A child's chair will typically have less stiff joints as it does not support as much weight and as it may be desirable for the child to be able to assemble the chair. For furniture pieces which are made of MDF or plywood which is about 0.5 inches thick and having tabs approximately 1.5 inches wide and spaced about 12 inches apart, it works well to rotate theslot26 to cause the tab to twist between 0.005 inches and 0.05 inches. Thus, in an assembled joint10 thetabs18 are twisted such that one side of thetab18ais displaced laterally between 0.005 and 0.05 inches relative to the other side of thetab18bas viewed in reference to the mean position of thepanel14 indicated by dashedline18c. More preferably, furniture joints will typically use between 0.015 and 0.02 inches of twist in thetabs18. Typically, second order bending of a panel will require less deflection than first order bending.

FIG. 12 shows a similar joint wherepanel14 includes threetabs18 andpanel22 includes threeslots26. Theslots26 need not be rotated, but the center slot is displaced laterally from a common line relative to the end slots, causing thepanel14 to be bent to tighten the joint10.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show a similar joint10 wherepanel14 has threetabs18 andpanel22 has threeslots26. As discussed relative toFIG. 12, thecenter slot26 is displaced laterally relative to a line between theend slots26. Differing fromFIG. 12, theend tabs18 have arecess30 formed as discussed above. Thepanel14 is bent as shown inFIG. 13 to insert thetabs18 into theslots26. When thetabs18 are pushed through theslots26 sufficiently, therecesses30 allow thepanel14 to unbend and sit in a neutral position.Panel14 is thus held captive by thetabs18 andslots26 but is not stressed.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show a hook joint50 of the present invention. The joint includes afirst panel54 which has hooks58 and a projection ornub62 extending from an edge of the panel. Asecond panel66 hasslots70 formed therein. As shown inFIG. 16, thehooks58 pass through theslots70 transversely and are then slid in a longitudinal direction to engage thepanel66. Thenub62 causes thepanel66 to bend (preferably between 0.005 and 0.05 inches) to place the joint under stress and cause increased tightness and friction. The joint is thus stabilized.

FIG. 17 shows a similar joint50 where asingle hook58 and twonubs62 are used to bend thepanel66.FIGS. 18 and 19 show a joint50 similar to the joint shown inFIGS. 15 and 16, but wherepanel66 has an additional slot orrecess74 which receivesnub62 when the joint is in the assembled position shown inFIG. 19. This causespanel66 to bend during insertion of the hooks (as shown inFIG. 18) and to unbend in the assembled position. The joint50 is thus held together becausepanel66 must bend to allow disassembly.

FIGS. 20 through 22 show different furniture components. It will be appreciated that, while not easily visible, theslots26 or70 are rotated or offset as discussed above to create tighter and more stable joints. Where multiple similar structures such as a plurality of slots are present, not all are labeled for clarity in viewing the drawing.FIG. 20 shows apanel100 which is cut to form the side of a shelf. Theshelf side panel100 includes a plurality ofslots26. The shelf is built with twopanels100 and individual rectangular shelf or back panels extending between pairs ofslots104A through104E. The shelf or back panels are similar to those shown inFIGS. 24 and 25.

FIGS. 21 through 23show side panels108 for a chair or rocking chair. Theseside panels108 includepairs112A through112C ofslots26. Two of thechair side panels108 are used with three of the panels ofFIGS. 24 and 25 to create a chair.FIG. 24 shows ashort panel116 which is placed between thechair side108 orshelf side100 to create the shelf.FIG. 25 shows asimilar panel120 which is longer. Thepanels116,120 havetabs18 formed withrecesses30. As discussed above, therecesses30 interlock with narrower portions of theslots26 and keep thepanels116,120 from pulling out of theslots26 transversely when assembled.

FIG. 26 shows a shelf assembled from twoside pieces100 and three long shelf andback panels120.FIG. 27 shows an assembled and unassembled view of a chair assembled with twoside panels108 and three short connectingpanels116. In these pieces of furniture,panels116 and120 are bent as discussed above to place the joints under some tension and stiffen the joints. There are several advantages to the furniture as shown. There is no hardware to complicate assembly or to lose. The furniture is assembled by simply placing thetabs18 into therespective slots26 and then sliding thetabs18 to engage the narrowedportion34 of the slots to lock the joints together. The ease of assembly allows children to assemble their own furniture.

Thepanels116 and120 are interchangeable within the piece of furniture as they can be made with the same length and the same number and spacing of tabs. Thedifferent panels116,120 can be made with different decorative cutout patterns (as visible in the chair) and can also be made in different colors. This allows the user to customize the furniture by selecting placement of eachpanel116,120.

Additionally, the furniture is customizable by exchanging pieces between different items of furniture. Instead of the shelf and chair shown above, a person can assemble the pieces to create a bench as shown inFIG. 28. The bench includes twochair sides108 and three long connectingpanels120. As shown inFIG. 29, a bench with storage cubby can be made with twochair sides108, three long connectingpanels120 and one short connectingpanel116. Similarly, the shelf sides100 can be assembled with short connectingpanels116 to create a narrower shelf. The furniture can thus be customized by exchanging pieces to create many different furniture combinations.

FIG. 30 shows a design for a stool or table124 according to the present invention. The table124 is formed with twopanels14 havingtabs18 and atop panel22 withslots26. The twopanels14 nest within each other withcorresponding slots128. Thetabs18 fit in theslots26 as described above, twisting thepanels14 to stiffen the joints.

FIG. 31 shows ashelf132 which is constructed usingside panels136 andlateral panels140 which have tabs and slots as discussed above. Theshelf132 usesstraps144 to brace the piece of furniture. The side panels136 (or alternatively the lateral panels140) havestrap slots148 formed therein.FIGS. 32 and 33 show detail views of the strap ends and slots. The ends of thestraps144 haveend plates152 attached thereto. Theend plates152, when turned sideways, can fit through thestrap slots148. After passing through theslot148, theend plate152 is turned perpendicular to thestrap144 and secures the strap to thepanel136. The straps thus provide diagonal bracing to the piece of furniture.

There are also strength and manufacturing advantages to the present invention. The joints are stronger and do not wobble like many ready to assemble furniture joints. Because a range in the amount of twist or offset in theslots26 will create a working joint, a middle value for slot twist or offset can be selected to account for variation in material thickness. This allows the joints to function well even with the normal variation in the thickness of plastics or woods. Moreover, where atab18 is formed which uses arecess30 or apartial recess30, cutting the recess into the tab forms the recess with a uniform thickness of remaining material and eliminates thickness variation in the material where therecess30 engages the narrowedportion34 of theslot26, making the joints more consistent.

There is thus disclosed an improved modular or knock down furniture system with locking joints. It will be appreciated that numerous changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims (17)

What is claimed is:

1. A modular furniture system comprising:

a piece of furniture having a joint comprising:

a first bendable panel

two tabs extending from an edge of the first panel;

a second panel;

two slots formed in the second panel;

wherein the tabs are inserted into the slots to assemble the joint and wherein the slots of the second panel are arranged so that the first panel is maintained in a bent configuration after the tabs of the first panel are inserted into the slots of the second panel.

2. A modular furniture system comprising:

a piece of furniture having a joint comprising:

a first panel, the first panel having at least one tab;

a second bendable panel;

at least one slot formed in the second panel;

wherein the at least one tab is inserted into the at least one slot and extends around the second panel, wherein the first panel has a projection extending outwardly from an edge of the panel, and wherein the second panel is maintained in a bent configuration by the at least one tab and projection.

3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the slots are disposed in misalignment with the tabs such that the tabs are twisted after they are fully inserted into the slots.

4. The system ofclaim 3, wherein at least one of the slots is disposed at an angle relative to a line drawn between centers of the slots.

5. The system ofclaim 3, wherein at least one of the tabs is twisted relative to a line drawn between centers of the tabs.

6. The system ofclaim 3, wherein there are three tabs and three slots and wherein one of the slots is offset from a line drawn between centers of the other two slots.

7. The system ofclaim 3, wherein a tab has a recess formed in a side thereof to create a section of the tab which is thinner than a surrounding section of the tab, wherein a corresponding slot has a wider section and a narrowed section extending therefrom, and wherein the tab is passed through the wider section of the slot transversely and then slid longitudinally into engagement with the narrowed section such that the recess engages the narrowed section.

8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the recess does not extend to a distal end of the tab.

9. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the first panel and second panel are generally flat before assembly.

10. A modular furniture system comprising:

a piece of furniture having a joint, the joint comprising:

a first furniture member having a first slot and a second slot formed therein;

a second bendable planar furniture member having a first tab and a second tab formed therein;

wherein the first tab and second tab are inserted into the first and second slots respectively, and wherein the first slot and the second slot are arranged such that insertion of the first and second tabs bends the second furniture member to place the joint under stress, and wherein the second bendable furniture member remains bent when the first and second tabs are inserted into the first and second slots.

11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the first slot comprises a wider portion and a narrower portion extending from the wider portion along the length of the slot, and wherein the tab may be inserted into the wider portion without bending the second furniture member, and wherein sliding the tab into engagement with the narrower portion twists the tab out of a plane of the second furniture member and bends the second furniture member.

12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the first tab has a recess formed in face thereof such that the tab is a smaller adjacent the panel and a larger away from the panel, and wherein the recess engages the narrower portion of the slot to prevent the tab from being extracted transversely from the slot.

13. The system ofclaim 10, wherein at least one of the first and second slots is disposed at an angle relative to a line drawn between centers of the slots.

14. The system ofclaim 10, wherein at least one of the first and second tabs is twisted relative to a line drawn between centers of the tabs.

15. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the second furniture member is elastically bent out of plane when the furniture is assembled.

16. A modular furniture system comprising:

a plurality of rigid planer furniture members adapted to be assembled to form piece of furniture; and

a strap disposed diagonally between said furniture members to stabilize the piece of furniture,

wherein a furniture member has a strap slot formed therein and wherein the strap has a plate disposed at an end thereof, the plate being rotatable parallel to the strap to pass through the strap slot and then rotatable perpendicular to the strap slot to secure the strap into the slot.

17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein a first furniture member has two tabs formed on an end thereof, wherein a second furniture member has two slots formed therein, wherein the tabs are inserted into the slots, and wherein the tabs are twisted by the slots to hold the first furniture member in a bent position when fully assembled with the second furniture member.

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